*I was sent an ebook ARC by the author in exchange of an honest review*

Summer rings and this means, putting the blinds down, getting a drink and curling up in bed with a good mermaid book. And this is a good one, trust me.

As a child I loved to dream of becoming a mermaid one day. I honestly believed that my mother would turn up on my 16th birthday and tell me that I'm one of the merrow folk. Okay, but to admit, I also thought she would tell me I am a witch. She never did. But my love for mermaid tales and my longing to be part of the sea never stopped. It was always hard for me to find a good mermaid book, which leads to the fact that my expectations are never high. This is just a personal thing. However, I was pleased very much with Chantal Gadoury's Between The Sea and Stars. Now I can finally say I've got my love for mermaid books back (and trust me, the last time I was pleased with such stories was at the age of 11, so this is a big deal!).

This is my first book by Chantal Gadoury and as it always goes with first times, you have a feeling of anxiety - will you like the book? will you like the writing? the plot? the worldbuilding? the characters? And then, it swept me away into a magicial underwater world of love, longing and danger. I did very much enjoy Chantal Gadoury's storytelling and this won't be the last book of hers I read. *pinky promise*

Let us start with the story. It is, in fact, a Little Mermaid retelling. The protagonist Lena is one of the merrows, however she feels that this is not where she belongs. She craves for the stories and relics from the human world and how wonderful would it be ... to dance, to walk, to feel the sun on one's skin? When her brother gets summond by a clan of Merrow soldiers, Lena takes a chance - to catch a glimpse of the lands and humans. But things go wrong, and Lena is forced to flee. As a human she has to deal with the loss of her family, the sea, her life. Fortunately she meets people who take care of her and starts to learn what the human world really means. But danger does not only lurk in the depths of the ocean, it can be found close to one on the human lands.

I must admit, I am always hesitant with starting fairytale retellings. Those are stories we love, we know from childhood and you don't want to read just a copy of something if you can actually pick up the original. Well, let me assure you. This book took the original concept of The Little Mermaid and brought a wholy new story to us. I loved the plot, actually. I always think it's easier to know what will happen, when it's a retell, but Chantal Gadoury definitely has a way of twisting plot lines, bringing new life to such an old, beloved story. And bringing so many new characters! This has been probably my favorite part of this book. The characters! Chantal Gadoury brought complex, wonderfully written characters to this story. There is Lena, the protagonist, who struggles with longing, loss and her past. Still, she fights. She keeps doing, keeps seeing the good in people, is being kind. Then there's Lena's merrow family - Javelin and Carrick, her brother and father. I loved the relationship of Javelin and Lena, and the dynamic of the family. They keep together, fight together for survival and still are filled with joy and kindness. Asger, one of the Merrow soldiers, brings the complex social structure into the story. In the sea, there are soldiers, too. Asger being one of them. (And I loved the nordic vibes I got from that part!!) As we follow the story, we meet Jace, his mother, his grandfather Edwin, Soren Emil, and more. And I'd very much like to shout which characters has stolen my heart, but I'd let you guess when you pick up this book. I loved that we got a variety of characters on Lena's journey on land. I wasn't expecting to meet a complicated life on land and the more I was pleased that it was filled with such a background story.

As much as I would love to keep rambling about the characters, I do very much like to explain my rating and list some of the minor issues I had. While I love fast-paced stories as much as slow-paced, I did had a feeling some scenes were too rushed where I wished to get more details out of it. Those moments luckily didn't happen a lot, the pace was fast and overall quite fitting to the story. What did confuse me a bit was how well Lena adjusted to the human world. Gadoury did try to state differences like humans do dress, are able of reading, and yes Jam exists. And I loved that, but sometimes I had a feeling Lena knew way too much for someone who was never allowed to reach the surface of the ocean. To begin with, how is she able to know what a wolf is? While I really loved how similiar the merrow society is compared to the human one, I felt those differences could've been depicted better. Those however, are things that still can be worked on on the next books. That's why I definitely see them as minor issues, and don't held it against the book. For the first in a series, it was a great start!

Overall, I enjoyed this story very much! I can recommend it to anyone who is a mermaid-loving-dreamer. And to anyone who needs to experience a world of new sorts - maybe one between the sea and stars! The question of belonging and believing will not let go of you easily!!! So put on your mermaid blankets, hide away from the heat, and jump into an adventure magicial, unique and still reminiscent with characters who will steal your heart and make you crave for more.